All change for IDF phone calls.
AFP via Getty Images
So this is interesting. Just weeks after Google’s campaign to promote Android as being more secure than iPhone, the smartphone battle has taken a sudden twist. The Israeli military has decided to ban Android phones for senior officers, on security grounds.
The news was broken by Israel’s Army Radio and picked up by The Jerusalem Post. “Under the expected order, commanders from the rank of lieutenant colonel and above will be permitted to use only iPhones for official communications. The step is aimed at reducing the risk of intrusions on senior officers’ handsets, according to the report.”
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Even before the current conflict with Hamas and expanding regional skirmishes, there had been multiple reports of “honey pot” attacks targeting Israeli soldiers, to compromise devices and exfiltrate valuable data, including troop locations.
Ironically, just last month Google trumpeted Pixel’s inclusion on the U.S. Department of Defense’s Information Network (DoDIN) approval list. “Google Pixel phones are built on a foundation of mission-ready resilience and intelligent security that is seamlessly integrated into the Google ecosystem,” the company said.
Only iPhone and Samsung had made the list beforehand. Google said Pixels “are the highest rated for security features empowering government employees to securely connect and collaborate from virtually anywhere—even the most remote environments.”
Not according to the IDF. This move “follows earlier efforts to harden mobile use,” The Post says, “including training and internal drills designed to raise officers’ awareness of social-engineering tactics. In recent years, the IDF even staged scenarios mimicking Hezbollah-linked “honeypots” to stress-test units’ digital discipline.”
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Israel National News reports that “in addition, the new guidelines are expected to ban the use of any military cellphone that is not an iPhone. Android devices will be permitted for personal use but prohibited from any operational or command purposes.”
Google has significantly changed Android in the last 18 to 24 months, shoring up its defenses to better compete with iPhone. The next stage of this is the move to restrict sideloading from next year. But as a locked down ecosystem, iPhone still wins out.